A conventional inflatable foil balloon (hereinafter called balloon) 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and comprises an upper first foil 11, a lower second foil 12, and a valve 20. The laminated first foil 11 is comprised of a bottom PE (polyethylene) film 111, a nylon film 113 coated thereon, and an aluminum coating 112 coated on the nylon film 113. Likewise, the laminated second foil 12 is comprised of a top PE film 121, a nylon film 123 coated there under, and an aluminum coating 122 coated on a bottom of the nylon film 123. The provision of the aluminum coatings 112 and 122 aims at making a design printed on the nylon films 113 and 123 glossy as proposed by some manufacturers of the art. The valve 20 is provided at a joining point of the PE film 111 of the first foil 11 and the PE film 121 of the second foil 12 inside the balloon 10. The valve 20 has an inner end extending toward a center of a space defined by the PE films 111 and 121, and an outer end extending externally of the PE films 111 and 121. Facing inner surfaces at peripheral edges of the PE films 111 and 121 are overlapped and sealed together by heat sealing in a process of securing peripheral edges of the first and second foils 11 and 12 together. As a result, a heat sealed circular portion 101 is formed. Also, inner peripheral edges of the PE films 111 and 121 are heat sealed together with an outer surface of the valve 20, resulting in an airtight enclosure. An ink coating 201 is coated on the valve 20 and is disposed correspondingly to the heat sealed circular portion 101 as effected in the conventional balloon 10. Portion of the valve 20 corresponding to the ink coating 201 will not be heat sealed with a channel 202 formed when the peripheral edges of the first and second foils 11 and 12 are sealed together. Gas (e.g., air) can be forced through the channel 202 into the balloon 10 or pressurized gas within the balloon 10 can escape therethrough.
For inflating the balloon 10, it is typical of inserting a straw (not shown) through the channel 202 into the balloon 10. Next, a user may inflate the balloon 10 by exhaling into the straw or by means of an air compressor (or air pump). The user then removes the straw from the channel 202 after inflating the balloon 10 to a desired three-dimensioned sphere. A pressure difference between inside and outside of the balloon 10 can sealingly urge the valve 20 against an inner surface of the balloon 10 at the channel 202. Thus, the ink coating 201 coated on the valve 20 is sealingly engaged with the inner surface of the balloon 10 for preventing gas from escaping. That is, air passage through the channel 202 is completely blocked. A stick thus can insert into a projecting outlet of the balloon 10 proximate the valve 20 so that the balloon 10 can stand erect on a support or the like for display.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 again, an outer surface of the balloon 10 (i.e., outer surfaces of the first and second foils 11 and 12) is formed of the nylon films 113 and 123. A design 18 chosen by the manufacturer is printed on the outer surfaces of the first and second foils 11 and 12 in advance due to the material nature of the nylon films 113 and 123. Hence, a person can only select a balloon 10 having a pre-printed design 18 which is attracting to him/her without other choices in buying. In other words, the printing cannot be customized. As a result, it greatly decreases applications of the well known balloon.
Thus, it is desirable to enable a user to print a desired design, preferably a colorful one, on the outer surface of the balloon. Such technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,417 B1 entitled “Balloon made of synthetic resin and a method for manufacturing the balloon” which was filed Nov. 8, 2000 with an application Ser. No. 08/708,973 and assigned to a Japanese Transworld Information Inc. Further, U.S. Publication Application No. 2004/0166260 A1 discloses a method of and arrangement for manufacturing printed objects such as foil balloons which was filed Feb. 19, 2004 by Charles Phillips with an application Ser. No. 10/782,441.
A common structure of both prior art balloons is detailed by referring to FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown, it is comprised of an upper first film 30, an intermediate second film 31, and a bottom carrier 32 laminated together. Further, an ink flood coating 301 of ink absorbing nature is coated on a portion of the first film 30. A bottom surface of the first film 30 is releasably attached onto a top surface of the second film 31. A valve 33 is compressed between and by the first and second films 30 and 31. A bottom surface of the second film 31 is releasably attached onto a top surface of the carrier 32. The carrier 32 is formed of paper or a shape-retaining material. The carrier 32 is stiffer than the first and second films 30 and 31 so as to support them. Further, the finished balloon product (i.e., foil balloon) prior to inflation can be flat without wrinkles. Thus, the foil balloon can be fed through a printer (not shown) which is, for example instructed by a computer (not shown) to print a customized design on the ink flood coating 301.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 again, a heat sealing device (not shown) is employed in the balloon manufacturing process of both prior art techniques. The heat sealing device (not shown) is adapted to register a predetermined shape (e.g., heart shown in FIG. 3) 302 of the first film 30 with that of the second film 31. Next, a heat sealing process is performed to seal the first and second films 30 and 31 together with the valve 33 compressed therebetween. Next, a sheeting device (not shown) is employed to cut the predetermined shape 302 out of the first and second films 30 and 31 along a perforated outline 303. As such, a foil balloon 40 is produced. Next, feed the foil balloon 40 through a printer to print a customized design on the ink flood coating 301. Next, the user may tear the foil balloon 40 printed with the customized design out of the carrier 32 along the outline 303. Finally, inflate the foil balloon 40 with air through the valve 33 to form a desired three-dimensioned sphere.
While both prior art techniques enable a user to print a desired design including a colorful one on the outer surface of the foil balloon by means of a printer, only one side of the foil balloon is allowed to print rather than both sides. Hence, a need has arisen for apparatus and method of manufacturing balloon assemblies which each is capable of enabling a user to print a colorful customized design on one side or either side thereof.